Photographic cameras are sometimes aided with lighting coming from external sources. Those sources can be modified using accessories commonly known as “lighting modifiers”. Such lighting modifiers can use many types of lighting sources, but relevant types of light sources are of particular note: “hot shoe” strobes and “studio strobes”. Hot shoe strobes are small flashes which employ a standard triggering mechanism known as a hot shoe. They are typically small in size, powered by batteries, and relatively low in power. Studio strobes have bigger flashes, are usually powered off of the electric grid (or dedicated powerful batteries) and emit a very strong light pulse. Both types of strobes can accept lighting modifiers, including “softboxes”, “snoots”, and ring flashes.
The connection between a lighting modifier and a strobe is determined by the type of the strobe. Hot shoe strobes usually connect to lighting modifiers using hook and loop closure straps, friction fittings inside a small box or being fixed externally to the modifier using a dedicated bracket. Studio strobes attach to lighting modifiers using a device called a “speedring”; an apparatus which fit a specific mount of a strobe on one end and a specific type of modifier on the other. The nature of those two very different connections makes it difficult to use a modifier built for a hot shoe strobe with a studio strobe.
Moving a strobe lighting modifier from one position to another during a photographic session can cause the strobe lighting modifier to lose its orientation relative to the strobe light source because of jiggling, rocking or other movements. Using strobes and light reflectors of different sizes and intensities causes time delays due to re-fitting the devices together after readjustment and substitution. The commercially available hot shoe strobe modifiers are provided by various manufacturers with proprietary adapters, and there are no uniform standards that facilitate the use of the modifier of one manufacturer with the lighting source of another. Moreover, lighting modifiers for studios can be more complicated than non-studio lighting modifiers and the additional equipment necessary for both studio and non-studio photography can add to the costs and bulk of photography.
Thus, it is desirable to provide a system and method for allowing a lighting modifier to be held in position relative to the emitting studio strobe and for allowing usage of lighting modifiers built for hot shoe modifiers with studio strobes. It is further desirable to provide a device that includes a shroud that covers the connection between the strobe and the lighting modifier and ensures that all light emitted from the strobe finds its way into the lighting modifiers and does not output undesirable light onto the scene. It is further desirable to provide an adapter that can accommodate and adapt to flash reflectors of various sizes. It is also desirable to provide a system for transforming hot shoe strobe devices into studio strobe devices, or alternatively a new way of securing modifiers to studio strobes.